Minimum dips in Delhi again as capital records lowest January AQI in four years

The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Delhi, forecasting one or two spells of light rain in the capital on January 27.

Published on: Jan 25, 2026, 09:56:51 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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Strong icy northwesterly winds continued to influence Delhi’s weather on Sunday, pushing minimum temperatures lower while keeping air quality in the ‘moderate’ category for the second consecutive day.

The city’s minimum temperature dropped to 6.6°C on Sunday, about a degree below normal. (Parveen Kumar/ HT Photo)

The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 150 at 9am on Sunday, improving further from 193 at 4pm on Saturday. This marked Delhi’s lowest AQI reading for January in four years, the last such instance being January 9, 2022, when the AQI stood at 69.

The city’s minimum temperature dropped to 6.6°C on Sunday, about a degree below normal, compared with 7.6°C a day earlier. The minimum temperature is expected to remain in the range of 4-6°C on January 26 as cold northwesterly winds continue to blow from the upper Himalayan region, where fresh snowfall has been recorded.

Meteorologists, however, said the cold spell is likely to be short-lived. Another western disturbance is expected to affect the region from January 27, which could alter wind patterns and lead to a rise in minimum temperatures.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Delhi, forecasting one or two spells of light rain in the capital on January 27.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s maximum temperature stood at 18.2°C on Saturday, around two degrees below normal. It is expected to remain in a similar range on Sunday before rising marginally by 1-2°C on Monday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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